cooking – Page 2 – Peaceful Reader

Happy Holidays!

Weekend festivities

It snowed last night which means for many children celebrating Christmas that Santa’s journey will be made much easier in his sled. My children are all older yet they appreciate snow a little more at this special time of year. I love the snow when I can stay inside, curled up in front of the fire with a very good book. Luckily I got most of my errands/shopping done yesterday.

I have a lot of cooking and baking to do today and I thought you might like some recipes. Heather and Tristan have been vegan for about a year now and that changes our holiday meal drastically. We are pretty healthy eaters leaning more toward vegetarian so it’s not like a cooking crisis but traditional meals like oyster stew and clam chowder on Christmas just won’t do. Instead will be having a carrot and potato soup with fresh homemade bread, a salad and homemade vegan brownies for dessert. It will be a simple meal sandwiched between two church services.

Tomorrow we are going to have a tofu/potato scramble, vegan cinnamon rolls and mimosas (luckily those are vegan naturally!) for breakfast after a few gifts have been opened. Later in the day we will sit down for a late supper of turkey lasagna (my husband begged for one non-vegan item), a a vegan roast (Heather and Tristan are bringing it), this amazing cauliflower dish from Jaime Oliver, mashed potatoes and vegan gravy, and a vegan berry pie. I’ve got my work cut out for me so I don’t know why I’m still standing around.

Happy holidays everyone for what you may celebrate may be different than I; I wish for you a happy and contented life as we move into a new year. Another year for Trump to mess things up giving us all the more reason to stand up and be heard.

Merry Christmas, Peace on Earth, and

JOY to the World.

Fall Recipes

My brother Jason introduced me to the fine art of making risotto. He makes a pea risotto that I adore. My daughter is not a major fan of peas though so she asked me to find a different special ingredient to add to this dish. She suggested sautéed carrots.

(source : Food network)

I had a beautiful butternut squash on my counter and as I browsed through Giada’s Kitchen; new Italian favorites by Giada de Laurentis I found the perfect recipe. Groovy Girl didn’t really love the butternut squash but I thought it was a perfect fall pairing.

Butternut Squash and Vanilla Risotto

Giada (123)

4 cups vegetable broth
1 large vanilla bean
3 cups butternut squash, cut in 1-in pieces
3 T. unsalted butter
3/4 cup finely chopped onion (one small onion)
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or med.-grain rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 T. finely chopped fresh chives

In a medium saucepan, warm the broth over medium high heat. cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds and add them and the bean to the broth. When the broth comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to low. Add the butternut squash to the simmering broth and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer squash to a side dish. Turn the heat on the broth down to very low and cover to keep warm.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt 2 T. of the butter over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has completely absorbed, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of broth and stir until almost absorbed. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth one cup at a time, making sure liquid absorbs each time, about 20 minutes total. discard the vanilla bean.

Turn off the heat under the risotto (and the remaining broth, if any). Gently stir in the butternut squash, Parmesan cheese, 1 T of butter, and the salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with chives. Serve immediately.

Really delicious. Perfect fall recipe. I also made these zucchini fritters-they were so-so but I’d like to play with the recipe a bit the next time.

Homemade Kitchen

{Bouquet of basil}

I have an old kitchen surrounded by a few new appliances. At some point I hope I’m able to update the the cabinets, the floor, and the sink. I am someone who spends a great deal of time in my kitchen and it’s a hallway kitchen so it’s not easy for anyone more than me to be in there. The next two days will be the toughest days for me and my kitchen as I get ready to make a big batch of salsa and a big batch of pesto.

Every year my mom shares her garden bounty with me so I may turn it into salsa and pesto; two items I love to have all year around for pure food happiness. Even though it’s an all day process and hot. My husband is a great help with the salsa part and I love that.

I’ve been looking for a good new pesto recipe that doesn’t use pine nuts. So expensive, those pine nuts. I found a good one on Epicurious.com that uses pecans. If you want my salsa recipe check out this fabulous post with a tiny Groovy Girl front and center.

Weekly Recipes 16; October

A friend at school gave me a huge grocery bag full of swiss chard and I’ve had fun experimenting with it. I’ve made it only a small handful of times, mostly just wilted in a pan with lemon squeezed. It was less than exciting. But I was very willing to try again. In handing over the swiss chard Kristin gushed about a swiss chard and potato recipe she made and so that very next weekend I googled it and put it together. I found this one from the NYT; Potato and swiss chard gratin.

Mind you it was not something Groovy Girl would stick her spoon into but my husband and I loved the creamy change of pace. After that recipe I still had half a bag of chard but I had other things to cook and forgot about it. I expected to open the bag a few days later, maybe a week, and find wilted, grossness but nope it was still hanging in there. Book club was just around the corner and I felt like a crisp salad. Googling brought this swiss chard recipe from Alexandra’s Kitchen and it was so lemony and delicious. A few days later I was actually craving the crispness of the salad again. So I guess I’ll look forward to the next time I find swiss chard. I’m a fan now.

This weekend we had another family over to hang out around our fire pit. The days are getting nippier and soon it will be too cold. Hopefully this wasn’t our last weekend out there but if it is we certainly had fun. I had some very good brats in my freezer from a local locker that I simmered in two cans of beer and then roasted over the crackling fire.

My friends Marek and Erin recently shared a jar of homemade sauerkraut and we had lots of toppings; spicy mustards, diced red onion, Amy’s ketchup, TJ’s wasabi mayonnaise, feta cheese. We had our salsa and blue chips and a garbanzo bean recipe from BudgetByte’s that I’ve wanted to try. I served the chickpeas over a bed of arugula from last week’s farmers market run. I am a huge fan of garbanzos and I thought this one turned out great; interesting spicy and sweet flavors mixed together. Of course around the campfire we roasted some marshmallows and made s’mores for dessert.

Swiss Chard Salad
Cumin Lime Chickpeas

Even though it’s October I haven’t made one thing with pumpkin in it. I like to look at pumpkins-the color is so vibrant-but I’m not a pumpkin pie fan. I should maybe try a pumpkin soup. On occasion I like a pumpkin spiced latte or chai. Maybe in the next week I can get locate a few more Fall flavors.

Weekly recipes 12: Tomato-Basil Soup

The week after Christmas we spent time at my brother’s outside Minneapolis. It was blissful because I was able to sit and relax, chatting, sipping, chatting, and reading while my brother cooked a scrumptious meal for all of us. During the holiday break I did most of the preparing and cooking while others relaxed so this was a great change of pace for me. Also he is a fantastic cook. My sister-in-law is no slouch either; she prepared a quiche and a German pancake for breakfast, starting our day off in a tasteful way.

Getting back into the groove of school this week and the freezing cold weather I started our week with soup. Of course. Tomato soup and grilled cheese. It was delicious.

Tomato-Basil Soup
{from Chris at Shared Appetite}

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
4 cups good-quality chicken stock
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¾ – 1 cup heavy cream
1 bunch basil, torn into small bite-size pieces
Parmesan cheese, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat olive oil over medium-low heat in a dutch oven or large pot. Once hot, add onions and season generously with Kosher salt. Cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until soft and starting to turn golden brown, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute, stirring to avoid burning the garlic.
Stir in the tomatoes and chicken stock. Season generously with Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. I like to use about ½ tablespoon of black pepper, which gives a little kick to the soup. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower heat to maintain a simmer for at least 15 minutes. You can feel free to leave it longer if you forget about it. I have.
Purée mixture using an immersion blender or carefully transfer soup to a blender. If using a blender, return mixture to the pot.
Stir in the cream and basil and let simmer for at least 15 minutes, although I like to leave it for a bit longer so it can reduce down to a thicker consistency.
Serve immediately, topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I highly recommend using Parmigiano-Reggiano for its superior quality), a little sprinkle of black pepper, and a chiffonade of basil.

We had some thick sourdough bread leftover from Christmas and it made perfect grilled cheese with Brie and Muenster mixed and melted between fat slabs of bread.

I poured Groovy Girl’s portions of soup through a strainer because even though I used my immersion blender it still had diced onions and I knew she would “freak” so to speak. She loved it. We had it for several meals and I had enough to take for two lunches at school.

I also created a tofu stir-fry with quartered brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, pea pods, turmeric, a little curry sauce, and coconut milk. Instead of rice I used Israeli couscous. Groovy Girl ate two helpings.

{1/2 a German pancake}

She had the day off today and because our week has been a little busy; I had two nights of meetings in between dance classes so I decided to jump in my freezing cold car and head home for lunch to dine just with her. I prepared German pancake mix and left it in the fridge in a pint jar before I headed out for school while everyone else was still sleeping. Before I left school at noon I asked her to turn the oven on so it would be nice and hot when I walked through the door. Before I even took my coat off I scraped a large pat of butter into my cast iron Lodge skillet and stuck it in the hot oven. When the butter was melted and browning I pulled the pan out and poured the pancake mix in and put it back in the oven for 15 minutes. We took it out, lifted it out of the pan, and ate it all up with jam, syrup, and powdered sugar. It was delicious. Memories made.

It was a great cook week here. Even in the freezing cold temps we survive. How about you?

Rhubarb, glorious rhubarb

{my cover}

My mom stocked me up with an armful of rhubarb. I can’t seem to get a plant to grow in my yard which is unfortunate because I love the stuff. Did you know it is a vegetable by the way? Yep.

Yesterday I washed and chopped up about 6 cups of the reddish stalks and made 3 containers of rhubarb sauce and used the last 2 cups to make a rhubarb ice tea. I then used the iced tea to create a delicious cocktail after googling basil and rhubarb together.

Both the tea recipe and the sauce recipe are pulled from a lovely little book I pulled from a shelf in a gas station and while I don’t usually buy my books from such convenience stores this one was too good to pass up. The Joy of Rhubarb; the versatile summer delight by Theresa Millang (Adventure Publishing) is packed full of wonderful recipes.

{New and improved cover}

Rhubarb Sauce

(A versatile
sauce…good over ice cream or chicken)

1 1/2 cups
granulated sugar

1 T water

1 T finely
shredded orange peel

6 cups fresh
rhubarb slices 1/4-in thick

1 tsp pure
vanilla extract

Mix sugar, water
and orange peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add rhubarb and
stir. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring often, until rhubarb is
tender and mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
Cool. Spoon into glass jars; cover and refrigerate for no more than
1 week, or place in plastic containers and freeze.

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I used a mixture of stevia and organic sugar as I’m experimenting with stevia. I let mine simmer for more than 8 minutes as I want it to be mush. I generally use mine as a jam but since I’m trying to be more gluten-free I plan to stir a teaspoonful into my greek yogurt for breakfast. I saved one container out to use and stashed the other two in the freezer to use later. I tried a few spoonfuls and the stevia held up just fine.

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Rhubarb Ice Tea

For flavor variation, add a
cinnamon stick when cooking, and stir in fresh lemon juice when serving.

8 stalks rhubarb, cut into 3-inch
pieces

8 cups water

1/3 cup sugar

Bring rhubarb and water to a boil
in a large saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer
1 hour. Strain; discard the pulp. Stir sugar into the hot liquid until
dissolved. Cool. Serve over ice. Garnish with mint, Lavender sprigs, or lemon
slices. Makes 6 servings.

Again I used stevia and the flavor was great. I poured it over ice and made this rhubarb basil cocktail from Elizabeth at The Kitchn. It was refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day. I took several photos of my rhubarb cooking but have to resort to using her beautiful picture as my husband left the house with our camera this morning. Probably for the best as my picture couldn’t do it justice. Yum!

{The Kitchn}

(Note to mom: I need more rhubarb)

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme. Click her link to find many other food-related posts.

Weekend Cooking; Corn Chowder

We have sunshine today and it’s been a glorious day. It’s rained all week though which made me wish for some sort of soup solace. Last night I made a corn chowder recipe that I’ve been waiting for just the right opportunity to create. That opportunity arose when Groovy Girl was invited to a sleepover yesterday. She and I had discussed this chowder and she’d told me in simple words “no thanks”. I waited until she was rolling down the driveway with her friend Emma before I started tossing ingredients together.

With little girl out of the house it defaulted to date night. We ate the soup, two bowls full, and then watched a movie together. I still managed to fall asleep by a little after 10. Bedtime rocks.

Corn Chowder
{adapted from The Mom 100 Cookbook}

4 slices of organic/local bacon
1 tsp unsalted butter
1 T unbleached flour
1 cup chopped onion or 1/2 cup shallots
1/2 cup chopped and peeled carrots
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
3/4 tsp thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups diced Yukon Gold potatoes (I did not use)
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
1 bay leaf
3 cups fresh corn kernels or frozen
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 T thinly sliced scallions or minced fresh chives
Extra cooked and crumbled bacon for topping

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 4-5 minutes. Using a slotting spoon, remove the bacon and set it aside on paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 2 tsp of fat from the pot.

Add the butter to the pot and melt over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until it starts to turn golden, about 2 minutes. Add the onion or shallots and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally. Add the bell pepper and thyme, season with salt and pepper to taste, and cook, stirring until everything is well combined about 1 minute. Add the potatoes, broth, bay leaf, and the reserved bacon. Reduce the heat to medium-low, let come to a simmer, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, 10-12 minutes.

Add the corn and let simmer until the corn is tender, 4-6 minutes. Using a potato masher or a wooden spoon, press against the side of the pot to mush up the potatoes and veggies and to thicken the broth.

Add the milk and heavy cream, increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring frequently, until tiny bubbles form along the edge of the pot, about 7 minutes. Don’t let the soup come to a boil or it might separate. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as necessary. Fish out the bay leaf, then ladle the soup into bowls and top with chives, scallions, and/or bacon.

This was a perfect easy meal. My husband had some fresh bread with it. I was happy with just the chowder. I’ll try this again in the summertime with fresh corn. I didn’t have any good potatoes to use so I just skipped the potatoes; it still tasted great. The soup wasn’t as thick but the flavor was spot on.

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads Weekend Cooking meme. Click to her link to find many other food-related posts.

Weekend Cooking.

Busy week. Not enough sleep. Badddd sleep week. Does this happen to you? Sleep has been an issue for me the last few years. I look forward to summer when I can sleep in and have a more relaxed schedule.

{copyright: Eating Well magazine}

I managed to whip up some healthy, happy meals this week including the Southwest Quinoa Cakes from Eating Well magazine. Candace at Beth Fish Reads featured this recipe and I knew when I read her post that I would make these cakes. They were delicious and fun to eat. And the recipe makes a lot! Making these in my very ancient muffin tin made me wish for a new one as I had trouble getting them out of the oiled pan.

Groovy Girl is busy acting in a new play and we are sharing carpool duties with another family. That gives me and husband some alone time (so rare). On Tuesday night I made her a simple dinner and sent her out the door with the other mother leaving me time to pull these cakes out of the oven, plate them up with all the fixings and sat down and ate with my husband. We talked. It was grand. I had leftovers for school lunches too! Win-Win.

{My cakes with two baby peppers}

Saturday I made these Lemon Cookies from Two Peas and their Pod for a Thai dinner we hosted at our church. A local restaurant catered the main entrees and they were amazing. I had three helpings. Someone told me later they thought the cookies were from the restaurant also. I grinned like a three-year-old. I love lemons and will make these again.

This post is linked to Beth Fish Reads’ Weekend Cooking meme. Please click her link to find many other good food posts.

Have a great week. I’m off to bed.

Weekend Cooking; Chicken Tortilla Soup

It’s already a week into February and I haven’t blogged once. I think my fingers are too frozen to type. I did make a lovely treat for last weekend’s miserable SuperBowl game. I saw a crock-pot recipe for a chicken tortilla soup that sounded delicious-hot, spicy, and filled with goodness-everything I was looking for while the weather outside is still bitter cold.

Some soups are easy to whip together and those are good for those days when you need something fast. My chicken soup didn’t come together quite that fast but it was so well-worth the wait. It makes any recipe more difficult when you have to search out the right meat. I did have a frozen whole chicken that had already been cut into parts via my farmer friend, John. After that unthawed I baked it in the oven with drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of spices. Mine had the skin on it but that peeled off easy after I baked the pieces. My dogs loved that little treat.

I baked the chicken pieces at the beginning of the week and waited until Sunday to actual put the soup together. I meant to make it on Saturday so it could have a day to sit (always the best) yet I don’t know really where Saturday went. The soup still tasted great and it was a perfect for lunch several times during the week.

Chicken Tortillas Soup {PW Cooks}

Ingredients

2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1-1/2 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 cup Diced Onion
1/4 cup Diced Green Bell Pepper
1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
4 cups Hot Water
2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
3 Tablespoons Cornmeal Or Masa
5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches
_____
FOR THE GARNISHES:
Sour Cream
Diced Avocado
Diced Red Onion
Salsa Or Pico De Gallo
Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
Cilantro

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cumin, chili pepper, garlic powder, and salt. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on chicken breasts, then sprinkle a small amount of spice mix on both sides. Set aside the rest of the spice mix.
Place chicken breasts on a baking sheet. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Use two forks to shred chicken. Set aside. {I had to cook mine for much longer-bigger pieces.}

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the rest of the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed—add more chili powder if it needs more spice. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and grated cheese, if you have it! (The garnishes really make the soup delicious.)

I did do the cornmeal step of which I was leery yet I thought it added a certain Southern complexity. I used my regular can of diced tomatoes instead of Rotel. I happened to have a full can of dark enchilada sauce that I bought by mistake {I use green when I made regular enchiladas} so I dumped that in there instead of the paste. I wanted the soup to be authentically spicy and didn’t worry about Groovy Girl’s taste buds.

{Lots of garnish}

I love the garnishes; we added sliced avocado, diced red onion, cilantro, cheese, and sour cream. It was tasty.

Here is the link to PW’s original recipe.

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking at Beth Fish Reads. Click the link to find many other food-related posts.

Cold, Cold, Cold Days…turn the oven on high and bake.

I’ve had an exciting day. Too cold for school. I don’t think the blizzard was as bad as predicted but I am not one to complain about a 3-day weekend. I had some time to myself while Groovy Girl went bowling with friends. I cleaned the house. I watched an episode of Parenthood. I read more of Cuckoo’s Calling-love it! I would have read more of Insurgent except my Kindle is acting up; I’m 52% finished and bada bing…no charge. Good thing I have plenty of “real” books around my house.

I made chocolate chip cookies with G.G. late in the day. And while the oven was on I whipped up this amazing dish with a butternut squash from my garden; it’s been in my basement pantry waiting for the perfect dish. One of my NY’s resolutions is to clean out my stacks of magazines and I found this recipe in an old November 2008 Cooking Light.

Savory Butternut Squash

2 medium peeled and cubed butternut squash
1 T olive oil
1/4 cup golden raisins
1 T. honey
1/2 tsp Madras curry powder
2 T minced fresh cilantro

Directions: Preheat oven to 500*. Toss squash cubes in oil, and season with sea salt and pepper. Place squash in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 500* for 10 minutes or until tender. Remove from oven; toss squash with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately. Yield: 5 cups.

My squash was smaller so I used less ingredients and after snapping a few key photos I tumbled it into a to-go container for my lunch tomorrow. Tomorrow we have a late start (so far) and already I’m looking forward to lunchtime. Last week I finished my lunchtime book, Palace Beautiful (review soon), and can’t think of what book is next on my pile.